Water

Our country has made real progress in improving water quality. However, our water pollution problems have not been solved – they have evolved.

The greatest threat to water quality today is polluted runoff from farm fields, parking lots, industrial sites, and backyards across America. That runoff – much less visible than discharges from a factory pipe – flows unchecked and untreated into our streams and rivers. It carries animal waste, bacteria, cancer-causing chemicals, and countless other pollutants through our communities.

Yet as the threats to clean water become more dispersed, we have very limited information about water quality at the local level. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 80% of streams across America are not monitored for pollution. And that’s only part of the problem. Of the fraction of streams that are monitored, EPA reports that more than half do not meet basic safety standards for fishing, swimming, or as sources of drinking water.

So, what can you do about it? A lot! You can make a big impact with a few simple steps. Let us show you how fun and easy it can be to help solve America's water quality problems.

Join the Clean Water Challenge

Our challenge is to monitor 100,000 more stream sites nationwide by 2022! But we need your help to do it, whether it's chatting with neighbors about water issues or getting your feet wet with stream monitoring.